


Food for Thought

by Khiori63



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-07-24
Packaged: 2018-04-11 00:40:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4414271
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khiori63/pseuds/Khiori63
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Are they or aren't they?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Food for Thought

The first time Wesley noticed it was when he invited the two of them to dinner. It was not something he normally did except for visiting dignitaries, but he still felt guilty about the whole M-5 debacle. After all, he'd been the one who'd arranged for the Enterprise to be the "guinea pig" for Daystrom's supposed "brilliant" computer system and he'd also been the one to almost destroy her when that "brilliant" system went haywire.

 

So when the Enterprise docked at the space station for a few days in order to undergo some routine repair and maintenance, Wesley figured it was a perfect time to make amends. Which was why the three of them were now sitting in one of the Starbase's finest restaurants, specializing in alien cuisine. When he'd first extended his invitation to Kirk, his old friend had accepted under one condition - wherever Wesley chose to take them, it had to have plenty of Vulcan fare on the menu. Not that Wesley was surprised by the request (or was it a demand?) - ever since Kirk gained his captaincy, he'd been on a mission to stock the Enterprise's stores with a large variety of Commander Spock's native foods. Any resistance to his efforts was met with the emphatic statement that as long as he was in command, his first officer was not going to "subsist on a diet of green leaves and an occasional bowl of vegetable soup".

 

It was therefore, a bit surprising when the Enterprise's first officer, after perusing the rather extensive menu, lowered the screen back into the table without placing an order.

 

His actions, or lack thereof, did not go unnoticed as Kirk gave him a curious look. "Aren't you going to get anything?"

 

"I am not particularly hungry."

 

"Hungry or not, you still have to eat."

 

The commander gave a slight sigh and Wesley had the impression the two had this argument before. "It is not logical to feed oneself when one has no desire to do so."

 

"It also isn't logical to starve oneself to death. You haven't had anything all day…"

 

"As a Vulcan, I do not require as much sustenance as humans."

 

"...and besides, the commodore was nice enough to invite us out to dinner, so I think the least you could do to thank him for his hospitality is get something to eat."

 

"Would it not be more appropriate to spare the commodore the expense of purchasing a meal which I do not require?"

 

"No, it wouldn't. So you'd better order or I'll do it for you. Because you’re not getting up from this table without some food in your stomach. End of argument."

 

Wesley hid a grin as the commander gave his superior officer what could only be a look of annoyance. "Very well. You may proceed."

 

"Glad you've decided to come to your senses."

 

After studying the menu for a moment longer, Kirk punched in both orders, then settled back into his seat. He grinned and winked at Wesley as their companion, with an ill-concealed huff, practically turned his back on both of them to focus on the news vid nearby. His attention never wavered from the screen, paying no heed to the small talk exchanged between his two companions.

 

About ten minutes later their food arrived. Wesley had ordered the mushroom quiche for himself, noting that Kirk had chosen a chicken and gruyere Panini, with a side order of roasted eggplant and zucchini. For the commander, there was a plate of _pre tarmeeli_ and _balkra_ , some _kreila_ , and a small bowl of _ameelah_.

 

Kirk cleared his throat. "Mr. Spock, would you care to join us?"

 

The commander turned back around, his expression still one of displeasure. That quickly changed, however, when he saw what lay before him and a look of pleased surprise crossed his features. Judging by his reaction, it was apparent Kirk was more than a little familiar with his first officer’s palate. Wesley could have sworn that said first officer smiled – _actually_ _smiled_ – when Kirk peeled off the top layer of his sandwich to expose the sun dried tomatoes right underneath, scraped them up, and then dropped them onto the commander's _balkra_. The Vulcan, in turn, spooned a small portion of his _pre tarmeeli_ onto Kirk's plate. They then began eating, Kirk with a great deal of gusto and his second-in-command a bit more fastidiously. Wesley once again hid a grin as Kirk kept helping himself to the commander's _ameelah_ and at one point, the Vulcan transferred some of Kirk's eggplant and squash onto his own plate. All the while Wesley and Kirk kept up a lively conversation, with their companion occasionally chiming in. But not one word was said about the almost casual way the two Enterprise officers shared their food.

 

Later that night Wesley really didn't think all that much about what he'd witnessed, other than it may have been a one time thing. After all, according to Kirk, the commander hadn't eaten all day, so perhaps sharing his meal was a way to insure his first officer ate and the other was merely returning the thoughtful gesture. If that was the case, then Wesley figured it probably was something they didn’t do on a regular basis.

 

But if this was something that didn’t happen very often, how did Kirk know exactly what to order for his first officer? Despite eight years of service on the Lexington with his own second-in-command, to this day Wesley had no clue what the man's taste in food was like. Yet Kirk was not only able to order an entire meal for _his_ first officer, but did so with complete confidence that everything he chose would be met with approval. Which it was. The entire episode spoke of a familiarity between the two, a familiarity one rarely saw outside of, to use the old expression, "an old married couple".

 

Wesley was still puzzling about it the following morning. It was a few hours before the Enterprise was scheduled to depart and the three of them were together once again, this time in Wesley's office. The purpose of the meeting was just a formality, to make sure everything was in order with regard to the maintenance performed on the Enterprise. It was a task a junior officer could have easily handled, but Wesley wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to spend a little more time with Kirk, given that he didn't know when he might see his old friend again. Plus, he admitted to himself, it was a chance to run a bit of an experiment, to see if the entire "sharing of food" incident the night before was just a rare occurrence or was much more commonplace between the Enterprise captain and his first officer.

 

To test his theory, Wesley had special ordered a dozen real, unconstituted pastries from the same restaurant they'd dined at last evening, along with coffee and tea. He knew from experience Kirk had a big sweet tooth and could only hope Commander Spock did, as well.

 

The first thing he noticed was that, without a word, the commander not only prepared tea for himself, but coffee for his captain, complete with two lumps of sugar and a spoonful of cream. Kirk accepted the beverage as if it were his due, with little acknowledgment of his first officer's gesture. For his part, Commander Spock seemed completely nonplussed at the lack of response, which lent further credence that what Wesley witnessed last night was nothing unusual between the two.

 

The pastries strengthened that theory even further. While Kirk made short work of one, then another (with a "Don't you dare tell McCoy" directed at his first officer), the commander studiously ignored the delectable treats. That is until Kirk pulled a warm apple cruller from the box. The Vulcan looked up from the report he was studying and stared intently as Kirk took a big bite. Before he could take another, he realized he was under scrutiny. His gaze shifted from his second-in-command to the crawler, then he rolled his eyes in apparent exasperation. "You know, if you want some, all you have to do is ask." Without waiting for an answer, Kirk broke the crawler in half and gave the larger portion to the commander. A look of sheer delight crossed the staid features and the pastry disappeared with surprising speed. Wesley once again wisely refrained from comment, but now he was convinced more than ever what he’d witnessed last night was nothing unusual between these two men. No, nothing unusual at all.

 

It was three years before Wesley had the chance to see the command team from the Enterprise again and by that time he’d pretty much forgotten the strange "what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine" eating habits of the two senior officers. This time the occasion was Admiral Robert April’s retirement ceremony. The admiral not only had many years of distinguished service in the Fleet, but also had the distinction of being the first to captain the Enterprise. As such, the higher ups thought it would be good publicity to have the ship’s current captain at the festivities, as well. So it was that the Enterprise arrived at the space station just in time for Kirk and his first officer to beam down as the ceremony began, leaving Wesley no time to greet his old friend.

 

Following the pomp and circumstance, Wesley, hoping to meet up with Kirk, made his way into the reception room. As he entered, he quickly spotted the captain, who, to all appearances, was regaling a group of young officers, a few still wet behind the ears, with some of his more adventurous exploits. At one point he gestured across the room and Wesley followed that hand to see Commander Spock standing a short distance away. The commander was politely conversing with April’s wife, but Wesley could see he was not focused solely on his companion, as a small smile would cross his face every time Kirk related an amusing aspect of one of their missions to his spell-bound audience.

 

Not wanting to intrude, Wesley, after giving his personal congratulations to the admiral and saying hello to several acquaintances, made his way over to the buffet table. Once there, he helped himself to pasta salad, a small helping of what appeared to be some type of vegetarian lasagna, and a roll. As he was filling his plate, Kirk wandered over, sans adoring crowd, Commander Spock now at his heels.

 

"Anything good, Bob?"

 

Wesley shrugged. "Don't know. Haven't tasted it yet. I..." His voice trailed off as he caught sight of the commander. The Vulcan was in the process of filling up his own plate when he paused, a piece of bruschetta in his hand. He was frowning at the innocent edible as if it had somehow committed a grievous sin. Kirk, quick to notice his first's obvious displeasure, merely chuckled and reached over to remove the piece of smoked salmon lying on top. He popped it in his mouth as the commander visibly relaxed and began piling more items onto his plate. It seemed pretty clear to Wesley that this time at least, the Vulcan was hungry.

 

With plates full, the three made their way to an empty table. As his companions seated themselves, Wesley excused himself to get some punch. Kirk decided to join him, so the two headed back to the buffet table. Wesley poured a glass, noting the various bits and pieces of fruit swirling around in the purple-red mixture. Oh well, maybe it tasted better than it looked.

 

He waited politely while Kirk filled one glass and set it aside. The captain picked up another, then slowly, intently lowered the ladle into the bowl until it settled just below the surface. He held it absolutely still as liquid slowly filled the ladle, then poured it into the empty glass. He did this a few more times before he noticed Wesley staring at him, a puzzled expression on his face. Kirk grinned. "Some of these look like cranberries. Spock hates them, so I'm not taking any chances." He strained a little more punch into the glass until it was about half full. "That’ll do for now."

 

Wesley frowned, struck by a sudden thought. The punch, the bruschetta, the dinner and breakfast meeting a few years ago – the interaction between Kirk and his first office was so casual, so…intimate that it was indeed just like that of an "old married couple". Could it be…? Well, there was only one way to find out.

 

"Jim, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

 

"Not at all, Bob."

 

"You and Commander Spock..." He hesitated, not sure how to proceed. "Are you two...well, I mean, with the punch and the food, and the way you…I was just wondering…is it possible that…?

 

A knowing smile crossed Kirk's face. "You want to know if we're lovers."

 

Blushing slightly, Wesley nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I mean, if you are, I don't have a problem with it, it’s just that I was…curious and…"

 

Kirk held up a hand, sparing Wesley any further embarrassment. "Don’t worry, Bob, you’re not the first person to ask me that and you probably won’t be the last." He glanced over at Spock and a small smile played across his lips. Wesley followed his gaze to see the commander methodically tucking away his food. He turned his attention back to Kirk as the captain continued. "But you know me, Bob, I didn’t come by my ‘T. for tomcat’ reputation for nothing. And Vulcans aren’t exactly renowned for having active sex lives. Or having sex at all, for that matter." He looked at Wesley. "Does that answer your question?"

 

"Yeah, well, I guess. I just thought I’d ask in case, well, you know, if you ever wanted to talk about it…" His words sounded lame even to his own ears.

 

Kirk clapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Bob. Maybe someday I’ll take you up on it."

 

He headed back to their table, Wesley trailing behind. He watched as Kirk set the Vulcan’s punch down in front of him before taking his own seat. The commander picked up the glass and brought it to his lips when he suddenly froze, his eyes fixated on something in the liquid. His actions, or lack thereof, did not go unnoticed by the captain. A hand took the glass away as Kirk carefully examined the contents. "Oh, for…" Kirk picked up a spoon and quickly scooped out what Wesley could only assume was a cranberry. The captain popped the tidbit into his mouth before handing the glass back. "There. Satisfied?"

 

"Quite." The commander took a sip and set the glass down without another word

It wasn’t the weirdest thing Wesley had ever seen, but it was still pretty strange. Especially since, at least according to Kirk, the two were friends, not lovers. Lovers, at least, are used to each other’s mouths and tongues and…

 

Wait a minute. He thought back to what his old friend had said. At no time did Kirk actually deny he and his first officer were lovers. Was it possible that Kirk was deliberately attempting to mislead? That he couldn’t admit the truth because he knew the Fleet didn’t approve of fraternization among its senior officers and Wesley might be obligated to report it? Or was their relationship, despite the supposed evidence to the contrary, just one of friendship and nothing more?

 

As he took his seat, he realized that he would probably never know the truth. Then again, maybe he already did. After all, he and Kirk had been friends for years, so why would Kirk want to deceive him? Even about this. It just didn’t make sense. And as his grandmother was fond of saying, "If it doesn’t make sense, then it’s probably not true." _Ergo_ _,_ Kirk and Spock were friends, just friends, and he was mistaken if he thought there was anything more.

 

But later on, as he watched Kirk bring over two helpings of chocolate pudding and the commander scrape his whipped cream onto the captain’s plate while in turn Kirk popped the garnishing cherry from his own into his first officer's mouth, Wesley was left to ponder the question once again.  And realize that at least this time perhaps, just perhaps, his grandmother was wrong.

 


End file.
